The Long Journey to Immortality

Wen Erya stood in a corner of the open space. Seeing that the two of them did not go through any more formalities, she fulfilled her duty as referee and solemnly announced, "Begin."

[Author's Note] An unremarkable ordinary student became a graduate student of a well-known professor at the university. Some students who failed the entrance exam were dissatisfied and made an agreement with the professor to take the same exam and see who was better.

If you find any missing chapters when reading my other books, feel free to message me privately.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Using Strengths to Attack Weaknesses

The battles between low-level cultivators are not as pleasing to the eye as those between high-level cultivators, which ignite a strong desire in people to cultivate and improve their strength.

Most cultivators at the first or second level of Qi Refining only master three or four of the most common techniques.

Their relatively scarce spiritual energy makes it difficult for them to even fully demonstrate all the spells they have learned, let alone showcase any exquisite techniques or skills during their use.

Lacking in personal strength, and hampered by limited resources and cultivation level, he lacked rare and unusual magical treasures for protection.

Even their most basic weapon-wielding skills can only be described as "naive". If you really gave every cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining a high-quality spirit sword and asked them to wield it against a target ten feet away, I'm afraid less than 80% of them could accurately hit the target.

Not to mention any combat experience.

Han Lu's challengers were all cultivators of the same age who had only been practicing in the Zhengyi Sect for a year or half a year.

The cultivation world is currently peaceful. Cultivators in the Zhengyi Sect often have to go through several large and small competitions before they can gain so-called combat experience.

Looking at her fellow disciples, Han Lu didn't think they were the type to play dumb and deceive others.

This is the main reason why Han Lu is so confident in defeating seven Qi Refining Level 2 cultivators.

What these low-level cultivators are not good at is precisely what Han Lu excels at.

Using one's strengths to attack one's weaknesses is always the only way to win.

As soon as Wen Erya called out "Start," Han Lu subconsciously began to make hand seals and chant incantations.

Han Lu's "Water-Treading Without a Trace" technique, which she had to use every day, was once again used on herself.

Qi Refining cultivators cannot fly on swords or in the air.

When fighting with both feet on the ground, using the Lightness Technique early to increase movement speed is much more important than using damaging spells first.

With the blessing of "walking on water without leaving a trace", Han Lu was as light as a swallow, her feet moving constantly from side to side in a small range, while her hands and mouth were also busy.

Just as Han Lu was casting her second spell, Sikong Junfeng finally finished reciting the incantation and unleashed the "Water Bullet Technique," a skill that almost everyone in Dongshan Academy knew.

Five fist-sized water bullets appeared out of thin air beside Sikong Junfeng, and with a wave of his hand, they all hurtled towards the approximate direction of Han Lu.

Water bullets are much less lethal than fire bullets.

But if these water bombs really do hit you hard, you're bound to suffer some serious damage.

Unfortunately, Sikong Junfeng's magical control ability was not enough for him to accurately hit Han Lu, the fast-moving target, with these water bullets.

The five water bombs didn't even brush against Han Lu's clothes.

Just as Sikong Junfeng was lamenting and wondering what to do next, Han Lu launched her first offensive.

It's also a water bullet technique.

However, compared to Sikong Junfeng's water bullet technique, Han Lu's water bullets appeared more numerous and larger.

Seven water bullets, each the size of a soccer ball, were driven by Han Lu and launched at Sikong Junfeng.

Unlike Sikong Junfeng, who used water bullets like shooting bullets, Han Lu treated these water bullets more like flying swords, incorporating some simple weapon-controlling techniques into them.

Of the seven water bombs, three resembled cannonballs, forcing Sikong Junfeng to scramble and roll on the ground just to barely dodge them.

The remaining four water bullets seemed to have developed brains and thoughts, attacking Sikong Junfeng from four directions.

Knowing that he could not dodge the water bullet, Sikong Junfeng, who was half-lying on the ground, began to chant incantations again, trying to use protective magic to defend against the attack head-on.

A faint blue mist condensed around Sikong Junfeng.

However, he was too slow to cast his protective spell. Before the layer of light mist could become thick, Han Lu's water bullets had already pelted Sikong Junfeng.

The first two water bullets dispersed the light mist, which didn't seem to have strong defensive capabilities, while the latter two water bullets, under Han Lu's careful control, showed mercy.

One hit Sikong Junfeng on the left arm, while the other knocked off the "flashy" beaded crown on his head, making him dizzy and disoriented.

With just two simple blows, Sikong Junfeng collapsed onto the ground in a disheveled state. Dizzy and unwell, he forced himself to stammer, "I... admit defeat."

He never intended to fight to the death. Knowing he was no match for Han Lu, Sikong Junfeng didn't think too much about it and simply admitted defeat to avoid further suffering.

Seeing that Sikong Junfeng had given up, Han Lu stopped.

After dispelling the "Treading Water Without Leaving a Trace" aura from her body, Han Lu lavishly took a Qi-restoring pill given to her by Wen Erya, quickly recovering her spiritual energy.

The two simple spells consumed nearly a quarter of Han Lu's spiritual power. Without the aid of elixirs, if she fought a few more rounds, Han Lu would probably have to rely on her own "fancy moves" to compete with others.

The "protracted war" tactic devised by Piaomiaozi based on Han Lu's cultivation characteristics can only be used when Han Lu is competing against cultivators of the same level.

After all, even the worst Qi Refining Level 2 cultivators had at least two spiritual meridians and opened up at least eleven or twelve acupoints, making them somewhat superior to Han Lu.

After putting on his jeweled crown and straightening his clothes, apart from the water stains on his body and face, Sikong Junfeng regained his elegant gentlemanly appearance.

Whether it was from the bottom of his heart or not, he still praised Han Lu with great manners after losing the competition.

"Thank you for showing mercy."

"I benefited a lot from this competition."

"Junior Sister Han's magical power is too great for me to defeat."

Han Lu was straightforward and didn't mince words. "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. It's normal to win and lose. Just don't hold a grudge against me because of this."

"No, no," Sikong Junfeng said seriously, "Next time, if anyone says that Junior Sister Han is not worthy of being Elder Piaomiao's disciple, I will definitely go up and argue with him. At the very least, I will drag him to you and let him taste this water bullet that is bigger than a fist."

Sikong Junfeng's words drew laughter from the surrounding audience.

After leaving the field, Sikong Junfeng did not linger on the sidelines and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

No matter how nicely he spoke, it was still too embarrassing for someone at the second level of Qi Refining to lose to a mere Daoist boy. Sikong Junfeng didn't want to stay here for even a moment longer.

Han Lu felt that her magic power had been mostly restored, so she continued to "call out numbers," saying, "Next."

The second person to come to the center of the open space to compete with Han Lu was the only female cultivator among the seven challengers.

With Sikong Junfeng's excellent example set before them, the challengers who followed were more or less mindful of etiquette to avoid making a fool of themselves.

The female cultivator, dressed in a blue robe and wearing two dark green jade bracelets, introduced herself by cupping her hands around her luggage, "Zhan Yujun."

This time, Han Lu simply returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Clever Battle Against Plant Soldiers

If we were to rank the challengers' fighting spirit and dissatisfaction with Han Lu from highest to lowest, Zhan Yujun would definitely be number one.

Zhan Yujun also joined the Zhengyi Sect ten days ago.

Born into a wealthy family in Jin, she thought she could easily become a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator with her superior water-attribute spiritual root. Even if she couldn't become an inner disciple or a closed disciple, she would at least be a nominal disciple of the Golden Core cultivator and thus gain access to more cultivation resources.

However, things did not go as planned. Zhan Yujun was not chosen by Piaomiaozi and could only join the Zhengyi Sect as an ordinary inner disciple.

If that were all, Zhan Yujun would at most feel a little regretful, but wouldn't have too many complaints.

But in the end, Piaomiaozi accepted Han Lu, a Daoist disciple whose talent was similar to hers according to the file.

This aroused resentment in Zhan Yujun, who was already at the second level of Qi Refining, and she subconsciously regarded Han Lu as a competitor and her first rival within the sect.

Little did she know that if she and Han Lu had switched places, Han Lu would never have had such thoughts.

It was precisely this immaturity that prevented her from catching Piaomiaozi's eye and ultimately led to her failure to be selected.

To be honest, even though Han Lu is ranked number one on the list of enemies, there is no deep-seated hatred between her and Zhan Yujun, whom she doesn't know.

So when they met, Zhan Yujun couldn't hide her displeasure and disgust on her face, and she didn't lose her composure, speaking harshly to Han Lu.

She only wanted to demonstrate her potential and strength through a magical contest, to show the "blind" Elder Piaomiao what she was capable of.

This was a way of telling him that he should choose her as his disciple, rather than his defeated opponent Han Lu.

With this in mind, Zhan Yuyun's fighting spirit was much higher than Sikong Junfeng's, and she immediately unleashed her best skills.

The dark bracelet on her wrist emitted a faint light as Zhan Yujun began to cast a spell.

The pair of dark green jade bracelets on the wrists of Zhan Yuyun, who came from a family of cultivators, were low-grade seventh-rank magical artifacts.

Although ordinary cultivators at the second level of Qi Refining can also convert spiritual energy attributes, it will consume more spiritual energy and slow down the speed of casting spells.

With the help of this wood-attribute magical artifact, Zhan Yuyun was able to easily convert the water-attribute spiritual power in her body into wood-attribute power and cast wood-attribute spells.

She originally did not intend to use magic items against Han Lu, but after watching the first match between Han Lu and Sima Junfeng, she came up with the idea of ​​"cheating".

Han Lu, on the other hand, remained unchanged in the face of all changes. Following her usual practice of competing and sparring during her Qi Refining cultivation, she continued to use her lightness technique to counter each move.

Halfway through reciting the incantation, Zhan Yujun reached into the storage pouch at her waist, grabbed a handful of spirit herb seeds, and scattered them in Han Lu's direction.

"Hidden weapons? Scattering beans to create soldiers? Or some other method?"

Several thoughts raced through Han Lu's mind. Although she didn't know Zhan Yujun's purpose in doing this, she still dodged immediately and avoided being hit by the grass seeds.

Han Lu's reaction was exactly what Zhan Yujun had expected.

Her face remained grim, and she continued chanting incantations.

The fact that the other party went to such great lengths suggests that they are about to unleash some powerful magic or secret technique.

Han Lu didn't think much of it and continued to use her water bullet technique, hoping to gain the upper hand.

Unfortunately, this is the only move in her current "arsenal" that is suitable for fighting and defending against enemies.

As both spells were completed simultaneously, seven more water bullets appeared around Han Lu, and the spiritually rich grass seeds that Zhan Yuyun had just scattered also changed.

The grass seeds, which had been soaked in a special spiritual liquid for several years, had long since shed their mortal form. Under the stimulation of wood-attribute magic, these grass seeds grew in a very short time.

The grass seeds grew, connected with each other, and eventually transformed into five grass figures no more than half a meter tall.

Among the straw figures, three were unarmed, while the other three held shields and spears made of straw and wood, resembling a ragtag army.

Despite the successful execution of the spell, Zhan Yujun showed no sign of relief; instead, beads of sweat trickled down her forehead.

Clearly, casting this spell and controlling five plant soldiers was not an easy task for her.

Seeing this, Han Lu sighed inwardly, "It really is like turning beans into soldiers."

Having learned about the opponent's tactics, she also had a way to deal with them.